A Conscious Parent’s Resource Guide to Princesses and Fairy Tales
Related Posts on this Blog
Raising a Princess Who is Not a Princess
Alterna-Princesses for Your Un-Princess
Media and Body Image for Girls
What’s the BFD with Disney Princesses?
What’s Wrong with Cinderella – 2006 NY Times article by Peggy Orenstein
Life Notes: Too Much Too Soon – 2011 article on commercialization leading to early sexualization
Children’s Books & Media
(Mostly suited for the preschool through grammar school set)
Books
- Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson (a cinder-type girl who, unlike passive Cinderella, manages to find true love and happiness with her own pluck)
- Beautiful Warrior, the Legend of the Nun’s Kung Fu (a historically real high-born girl kicks ass, protects women and starts Wu Mei kung fu)
- The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (a princess who can take care of herself!)
- Greyling by Jane Yolen (great to introduce when there’s an interest in mermaids)
- Fairy Houses by Tracy Kane
- The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley (Moving beyond the fairy tale and into the role of the Reader. Ages 8+)
Products
General Resources
- SurLaLane Fairy Tales – endless resources for children’s books and academic reading
- Disney Princess Recovery – a mom’s “90 day recovery” attempt and un-Disneying her daughter’s princess obsession. Start at the beginning. Links to an especially compelling post.
- Childhood Gone Mad blog by Diane Levin, co-author of So Sexy, So Soon
Adult Books & Media
- Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein
- Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketer’s Schemes
- So Sexy, So Soon: The Newly Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do About It
- SurLaLane’s Introduction to Women and Fairy Tales (resource list)
- SurLaLane’s Introduction to Children and Fairy Tales (resource list)
- SurLaLane’s Introduction to Disney and Fairy Tales (resource list)
- Mickey Mouse Monopoly (Documentary – low res full preview here, often available at university libraries)
These two documentaries look at the end-product of gendered marketing:
Amazon Lists
- The Disney-free Childhood by Máma Leche – contains most products listed here, as well as things I’m interested in, but haven’t had time to read / watch / use yet!
- Better Princess Stories by Freemontmama
- Unconventional Princess Picture Books, for Kids Aged 3.5 – 6 by Cambridgearea
- Fractured Fairy Tale Books by Nebbye1
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